US Army redraws its tattoo policy

[T_i_B]

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4859478.stm

The US Army has relaxed its policy on tattoos in a bid to boost the number of new recruits to its ranks.

Soldiers can now have tattoos on their hands and back of the neck as long as they are not "extremist, indecent, sexist or racist," army officials say.

Women recruits can also wear permanent eye-liner, eyebrows and lip makeup, although it must "not be trendy".

An army official said it made no sense any more to bar highly-qualified people on the basis of their body art.

[Taxloss]

1. Insert "military tattoo" joke here.

http://www.edinburgh-tattoo.co.uk/tattoo-experience/

[Name removed]

4. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Taxloss]

5. What's their kilt policy, I wonder? n/t

[hootinholler]

32. That is a great show!

Anyone who has the chance to go see the tattoo, do it. Don't think about it, just go.

-Hoot

[Kipling]

2. "must not be trendy"!?

On behalf of the country that brought the world Damien Hirst and Morris Dancing, that's absolutely ridiculous.

[LostinVA]

8. They're talking about the US Army

[Kipling]

10. I know.

I was just reflecting on the fact that it may be a bit hypocritical for someone from England to tell anyone they're being silly.

[0rganism]

23. No Goth Chicks, maybe?

:shrug:

[GodlessBiker]

33. Only makeup from the 1930s is permitted (unless that happens to be trendy)

In which case, only makeup from the 1890s is permitted.

[ClintonTyree]

3. "Highly qualified people"........

meaning, "warm body". They'll take just about anyone now, they need cannon fodder and they need it badly. So you, kid, yeah you....the high school dropout with ink all over you and a rap sheet the length of my arm (no felonies though!) Uncle Sam is looking for a few........men.......boys......women......young girls.......ANYONE that will volunteer their life for the noble cause of American oil consumption. PLEASE!

[Arkansas Granny]

9. Yep. They just keep relaxing those standards. I guess they

figured out that there is a large pool of disaffected youth out there that they can tap that had previously been labeled as undesirable.

[saigon68]

12. PICKING THE "LOW HANGING FRUIT"

Actually they are relaxing the standards for the Draft

In order to get the REALLY POOR OF THE INNER CITY drafted these days, you are going to have to accept a few Tattoos

[alphafemale]

6. Tattoo?

http://www.aqppt.org.nyud.net:8090/index/franc/accue/herve.jpg

[PurpleChez]

7. Ah...Herve!

This world was never made for one as beautiful as you.

[LynnTheDem]

11. "it made no sense any more"

When your supply of "fungibles" is dying out.

[Moderator]

13. Kick

[sabra]

14. U.S. Army relaxes tattoo rules to attract recruits

http://today.reuters.co.uk/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=2006-03-29T215312Z_01_N29144755_RTRIDST_0_OUKOE-UK-ARMS-USA-TATTOOS.XML

U.S. Army relaxes tattoo rules to attract recruits


WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Army, which missed its recruiting goal last year, has relaxed its policy banning certain types of tattoos in a bid to attract new soldiers who otherwise would have been barred from serving.

The Army will now allow new recruits and all its current soldiers to have tattoos on their hands and back of their necks as long as they are not "extremist, indecent, sexist or racist," Army officials said on Wednesday.

The Army said it continues to prohibit tattoos anywhere on the head, face or throat area.

But it will allow women recruits and soldiers to sport "permanent makeup" in the form of indelible eye-liner, eyebrows and lip makeup. The Army said this permanent makeup "should be conservative and complement the uniform and complexion in both style and colour, and will not be trendy."

[MADem]

15. Gang membership no longer a bar to enlistment!!!

So long as the recruiters turn a blind eye!!!!

Before you know it, with the relaxation on the tattoo makeup, they'll be forming up the Michael Jackson Brigade...!

[KansDem]

17. Just in time to dangle Osama from a third-floor balcony! (eom)

[MADem]

18. Heh, heh, that was clever!!!!! n/t

[400Years]

16. they are getting desperate

[wuushew]

19. Anything that weakens dress codes is good

they are not compatible with personal freedom or expression even though the primary motivating factor here is to feed more fodder into the Iraqi meat grinder.

[BOSSHOG]

20. Add one more item to the bush legacy

Just chuck out good order and discipline. How can trendy makeup complement the Army uniform? Such a fucking shame. The Army will also take Navy Sailors and Officers who have no hope of a future in the seagoing service via the Blue to Green Program. And we give the discretion of deciding which is "conservative" to whom? - the E-5 recruiter on the storefront desperate for a number to keep from getting fired?

[Hekate]

27. My hubs's moustache couldn't extend "past the vermilion of the lip"...

... when he was in the Air Force in the late 1960s.

The vermilion of the lip? Any organization capable of expressing itself that anal-retentively can easily think of ways that "permanent makeup" could be required to "complement the Army uniform." :eyes:

I don't know about the good order and discipline part, but I agree with your earlier post that they are gradually moving toward a draft. I actually thought we'd have one before this point in the war.

Hekate

[DBoon]

21. I can just imagine the headlines about our next military venture

"Goths invade Iran"

[T_i_B]

26. Surely the headlines would read.....

IRAN RAMSACKED BY GOTHS!

:-)

[NYC]

30. Visigoths or Ostrogoths?

?

[Renew Deal]

22. Can't worry about ink when you need warm blood.

:(

[MadHound]

24. Translation

We're running out of warm bodies, even though we've relaxed educational standards, are looking the other way so as not to see gay soldiers, and thrown the psych tests out the window. Thus we're having to do away with any policy or rule that prevents us from filling our recruitment quota.

Next thing to go out the window is the age barrier. Now that we have raised the age limit to 42, we're now going to lower it to fifteen.

[One_Life_To_Give]

25. Droping Ban on Gang Tattoos?

I know they were banned. But maybe the Army decided thats just the type of new recruit they need?

[saigon68]

28. ACTUALLY THEY HAD AND STILL HAVE HOODLUMS AND DEVIANTS

The "LEASH LADY" herself to kick a little (insert racial epithet here) head Ass.

[newspeak]

29. daughter is in the Army

has a tattoo on her ankle--a ring of fire with a black rams head with fire coming from the eyes. She's an Aries and she has had the tattoo for a long time. I guess she only wears long pants, no skirts.

[saigon68]

31. Good for her

I hope she is treated better by the VA than we were